HIMYM season 7 martin short

The good news for Marshall Eriksen just keeps rolling in. Jason Segel’s character — who had a tumultuous year last season with the shocking passing of his father, not to mention work and fertility woes — will be gainfully employed in the seventh season… and by none other than Martin Short.

“We’re all huge fans … he’s had such an incredible career,” Bays says of the SCTV alum, “We all love Martin Short as a comedy legend, but [his performance on] Damages is what sold me to have him on our show. [His character] is going to be funny, but there is going to be some more serious stuff, too, since we deal with the full spectrum of human emotion on our show. And Martin Short is such a diverse talent.”

The timing couldn’t have worked out better for the HIMYM cast and crew, either. In the sixth season finale (“Challenge Accepted”), Dave Foley played Mr. Bloom, the man who interviewed Marshall for his dream job as an environmental lawyer. While Bays tells EW they hoped to have Foley “for a recurring gig on the show,” the Kids in the Hall star’s new pilot, How To Be a Gentleman, got picked up. “We traded one Canadian comedy legend for another,” Bays joked of getting Short to step in.

But, don’t jump the gun too fast, HIMYM fans: This doesn’t necessarily mean Short will be playing Foley’s role. Nevertheless, whichever place of employment Short’s character is from, he will oversee Segel’s Marshall. Says Bays, “You’ll see Marshall get settled into work in a really funny way. We knew that we wanted him to have a funny boss. Martin Short and Jason Segel in a work environment felt like a perfect combination.”

Fans won’t have to wait long to see Marshall get the news his new job, though. “It’ll kick off right away in the premiere,” Bays confirms, adding, “It’s a new chapter for all the characters.”

In addition to Marshall starting his new job and celebrating Lily’s pregnancy, expect a renewed focus on Barney and Robin, who appeared to be rekindling their romance in the season finale. While Bays wouldn’t confirm or deny the popular theory that Robin is Barney’s future bride, he did say there will be something of a love triangle: “There will be some twists and turns now that Nora [actress Nazanin Boniadi] is back in the picture.”

So will this ultimately mean heartbreak for Robin? Perhaps, but for now, the only heartbreak the HIMYM writers might explore for our favorite Canadian news reporter is, “Robin’s reaction to the Canucks’ devastating loss in the Stanley Cup.” Hey, at least she’ll have fellow Canuck Martin Short to share in her pain, eh?